Eid comes around every year and takes an important place in my life. I am often anxious for Eid to arrive, especially for Eid ul-Fitr,which is part of Ramadan. Eid ul-Fitr is a celebration after a month of fasting which is based o the moon. Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of a tiring month of fasting, but this makes Eid even more special. Eid is the most enjoyable holiday of the year.
Preparations for Eid ul-Fitr starts up to a week before Ramadan.Plans have to be made in advance because everyone is trying to get our guests to come to their house and vice versa. Iftar is what we call the nutritious meal we eat when we break our fast. Iftar is sometimes dinner too, depending on the time we break our fasts. A traditional Iftar would consist of puffed rice;several glasses of water; haleem, a thick spicy beef stew; dried dates and sometimes, mangoes and oranges. Iftar gets more complicated when the time to break our fast is pushed back. Then, we would eat more satisfying foods and would include boiled rice to our menu. Eid al-Adha, the second Eid which my family celebrates is scheduled about two months away from Eid ul-Fitr. In order to prepare for Eid, we visit a place in New York called Jackson Heights, which is populated by many South Asians and has an abundant variety of items which we are unable to purchase at a decent price in New Jersey. My family and I would go around this neighborhood, until sunset when we would go to a conveniently located restaurant, Aladdin, where we often break our fasts. We purchase gifts for friends and family from a store called ISP, Indian Saree Palace, and a store minuscule in size compared to ISP, but the prices there are small too. At that very shop, my mother would give me a budget of five dollars, and I search through the depths of the minuscule shop to find an embroidered shawl from Pashmina. I buy a shawl once every year, to wear to the morning prayers. Since I receive numerous outfits for Eid each year, I wear up to three of them on Eid. In Jackson Heights, we buy spices to use on Eid.
I think the week before Eid is the most hectic. During the week before Eid, a women, Vanessa, would come to clean our house. After she finished polishing the floor, I would give the leather sofas, the side tables, and our granite counter tops a sweep with Pledge. Subsequently, I also have to wipe the mirrors,windows, and the tops of the glass tables with Windex. By the time our house is shining, there are only two days left until Eid. These next two days, I help my mother make the kabobs; the lemon pudding; roast chicken;butter chicken; a helping of mutton, and chicken biryani along with the scrumptious beef she makes. My mother also makes rice pudding, anticipating the success of her two bowls of pudding, and a few full stomachs. I take a shower the night before Eid and, careful not to wrinkle the new bed sheets my mom had laid out, wait for my alarm to ring first thing in the morning.
When the day finally arrives, we wake up and get dressed for the first part of Eid. We go to a local mosque, where we pray. My eyes are droopy, and I am extremely cold, even with a thick shawl wrapped around my head. Before leaving, my dad hastily grabs snacks from the refreshment stand. Then, we go back and catch some sleep. When I wake up, I am given a small serving of egg halwa, which is a sweet fit for Eid. Then, after tidying the house, we get ready for the second part of Eid. It is a tradition to touch your elders' feet and get money in return,so that's what I did. I did not get more than I expected like I had many years ago, but I received a sufficient amount. We would go down to our neighbors' house and have lunch.For the last part of Eid, guests came over to dinner. Later that night, I fall asleep happily, anticipating the next Eid.
